65 years down, 35 to go (CLOSED, MT, ATTN Vyvland)

[Luziyca]

Sudalto, Syfmion, Vyvland

This was a military base in Vyvland. Since 1948 when Luziyca negotiated a treaty with President Jeuves of South Vyvland, this base was strategic, monitoring North Vyvland, Namor, and East Chorea, as well as other nations in Esquarium. This was literally the premier military base, and with it, came a perk: the only place in Vyvland to drive on the right, and the only place where Luziycan is really spoken. The Luziycans have considerable authority here.

The highest point is not 33m above sea level, it is 18m naturally, but the tallest buildings obscure it. The tallest building, Syfsdop Point (that is not on Syfsdop), is 45m tall, built in the 1980s to house Vyvlander refugees, in a western neighborhood, called "The Crescents," serving as a windbreak (the second is in the eastern neighborhood built in the 1980s, New Lorence, at Lorence Tower, at 33m tall). The neighborhood in the center is the old town, full of 1950s suburban homes, a shopping center, a Base Office, and important buildings like a government building and a primary school (the Stanley Azubah Primary School, serving Pre-K to Grade 8, the Erman Sanker Secondary School is in The Crescents, serving Grades 9-12, and the only Vyvlander-style school, the Nicena School, serves from Juldaas to Abejyr, with students wishing to attend university must head to Vyvland). With 25,381 people living there, of which only around 5,000 live in the city center, and about half of the remainder living in The Crescents, and the rest in New Lorence, it seems a bit unique and isolated. Sudalto has a SAB taxi service (yellow taxis) and a Blahbus (blue buses), to transport people throughout the island. It even has a harbor, shared with the base.

The base behind Sudalto (of which the N720 goes under the city and base) is home to an airstrip, barracks, obstacle courses, training facilities and missile silos. The eastern edge of the base is marked by "Sudalto Highway 1," a toll road that charges 10 lira to enter the base (10 to exit), and is where traffic switches to the left (if going to Vyvland) or the right (if entering Sudalto), the south by the town, and the north and south by the sea. The air base also doubles an airport to Sudalto, serving flights from both Vyvland and Luziyca, as well as occasional charter flights.

A small chunk of Syfmion is controlled by the Vyvlander government, at Syfsdop, the southernmost point of Vyvland, where a small settlement exists. The lease will expire in 2047, after which it either must return to Vyvland, or be renewed. And despite Vyvlanders living here (many descendants of former nationalist officials fleeing in 1981), Luziycan and Vyvlander is spoken, with some Swedish.

But this town, while windswept until the 1980s, still maintains its beauty, especially in the base, with its ecology, mainly birds. The sun begins rising over the island and you start waking up...

[Divitaen]

OOC: I can't quite grasp the details of the geography, so please correct me anytime I get it wrong.

The Villeneuve family was a rather quiet family, very peaceful. They were conservative, settled and extremely regular. Living in the City Center, it was a predictable nuclear family, overall. The male head-of-the-household was Stéphane Alexandre Villeneuve, and his wife was the extremely-uptight and classy Marie-Christine Villeneuve (nee Cotillard). They had two children. One was an 18-year-old Gérard Nicolas Villeneuve, who served in the Luziycan Armed Forces, at the military base in the City Center. They also had a young daughter, 8-years of age, studying Grade 3 in the Luziycan-style primary school, the Stanley Azubah Primary School. Her name was Gabrielle Roxane Villeneuve, and she was a young, innocent girl.

Stèphane had an enviable job. He was an executive director working at the City Center mall. It was a job that paid well, hence the beautiful landed property in the City Center. He was born there, an old-world Luziycan patrician at heart. Though not Luziycan in ethnicity, he was born to French immigrants who had long-since assimilated into Luziycan culture, and he was Luziycan in his speech, manner and behaviour, through and through. He was not entirely Luziycan in his dress and his food, but in terms of his thinking and ideas, he was very much Luziycan rather than Vyvlander. He was a conservative Christian who hated socialism, leftism and other unthinkable quaint liberalism. He completely detested the Crescents and all its inhabitants, and as far as he could see it, was necessary only for corporate expansion for ready labour supply, and even then, he doubted those 'filthy Vyvlanders' with their 'ungodly subcultures and rebellious attitudes' would even make for productive workers. His wife was the type of woman whose social status amongst friends depended on not just her wealth, but the continued appearance of wealth. She enjoyed her life as a saleswoman at the City Center mall, advertising beauty products for the Naturel de Nantes company. It was almost stress-free, and made her popular amongst her girl-friends finding hot, new trends on the fashion market.

Outside their house, with a vast garden upon which were lavished periwinkles, roses, bougainvilleas, for beauty, and gardenia, nicotiana and sweet autumn clemantis for the fragrance. Their garden was regularly tended to by a hired gardener. Marie-Christine knew a bit about garden (but her friends would never, and could never, know that). And in the garage was a lovely Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG. It was a two-seater, which was all that was necessary. Gérard was a big boy, and could take the taxi on his own, so the family could sell the four-seater. As for their dainty Gabrielle, she could sit on her mother's lap as they travelled from their house to the primary school and then the mall.

As every normal day, Gérard left first for the SAB taxi stand. He had enlisted with the Luziycan Armed Forces, as his father felt that a military career with the Luziycans would be a good influence on Gérard and would help him in the future with discipline and self-control, principles that the conservative Stéphane advocated with rigorous devotion. The rest of the family bid him farewell as they entered the Mercedes-Benz. The young Gabrielle was still frolicking amongst the bougainvilleas and gardenias of the lawn, and was dragged into the car by her mother, Marie-Christine.

Gérard had an apprehensive attitude as the taxi arrived at the stand. He waited patiently, with his uniform on and a pack of his belongings and necessary equipment and changes of clothes, as the taxi headed towards the Base Office. There, after paying the taxi fare, he got out of the vehicle and entered the office. He observed the movements of the various clerks and military officers, and waited patiently before the admissions office, in order to verify his enlistment. He merely had to wait for the clerks and secretaries to be done with their work as he sat in the lobby.

Meanwhile, the rest of the family continued their routine as per normal. Gabrielle had been dropped off at the Luziycan-style primary school, were a smiley teacher escorted her into the school premises to begin her education. The rest of the family headed over to the mall. Marie-Christine straightened her blue-laced blouse, straightened her long, white chinos, and adjusted her sapphire-blue Denim jacket. She arranged her various accessories in a Louis-Vuitton handbag, and put on the Jimmy Choo pumps that she had kicked off during the ride, when she had Gabrielle on her lap. As she sashayed into the mall, to get ready for her post at the Naturel de Nantes storefront. Meanwhile, Stéphane parked the car before he sauntered into the mall, with a nicely-tailored Ermenegildo Zegna suit, to enter the Administration Office, once again, where he would help with the management and running of the mall. He entered and greeted his various secretaries, and of course set to work pouring over numbers and figures of the recorded profit margins of the various companies who were paying rental for a storefront in the mall. He looked over the numbers of the parking fees, and made a little signature at the bottom authorizing a preliminary corporate review of a change in parking fees to deal with the increased demand for the mall, before handing it over to his colleagues, other high-ranking execs who would take over the issue.

[Vyvland]

This might help: http://iiwiki.com/wiki/Syfmion

The Boldermaan Family

---

Torsden and Sdevania Boldermaan stuggle on through their old age in New Lorence, having moved as refugees to Syfmion upon the disollution of the nationalist government in 1983. You wouldn't describe either of them as happy in Syfmion, but they had no alternative; Torsden was wanted by the Vyvlander courts due to his morally questionable history in the former South Vyvlander army. As such, the Boldermaans had only returned to mainland Vyvland once, in the dead of night in 1982. Not a day goes by when either of them don't feel that pang of pain for their homeland, only made worse by the thought that they'll never return.

Still, the Boldermaans had a nice house in New Lorence, or Niylohrec as they knew it, with a pretty facade, a quaint interior and a narrow garden in which they grew vegetables. And Torsden didn't like what Vyvland had become; full of liberals and phony "rights", he couldn't stand it there. He longed to see a strong rightwing government in power again, like back in the day, but the best they could do has been a measly centre-right coalition, and that didn't show much chance of improving at the elections next week. And Torsden, due to his disputes with the courts, couldn't vote to change this.

The Abelig Family

---

The Abeligs are a quiet family residing in the Crescents, with both parents, Elena and Rasmys, having come as children to Syfmion in the 1980s, and having been educated in Vyvlander-style schools. Although they've assimilated onto the small island well enough, they still feel a longing for the land in the distance, its islands and bays appearing every morning from their window on the fifth floor. Since they married in 2000, Rasmys and Elena have given birth to three children; Aneka, Isaak and Rydulv. Three-year-old Rydulv - or Rydi as his parents call him - is a little bit of a hassle from time to time, but the other two are as good as gold.

After sending the children to the (Nencia?) School at half past eight in the morning, Elena and Rasmys went off to their individual jobs. Like his father before him, Rasmys worked in the Luziycan Air Force base, repairing broken parts. On his descent to ground level from the flat, Rasmys hears from Luke, a fellow Vyvlander who went to the mainland last night, that the Luzzies were still holding nuclear weapons at the base according to Esquarium Leaks, a Crolacian government leaks website. This really irked Rasmys. He'd worked in the military for almost all his adult life, and could abide by the Luziycan drones, desroyers and deadly stealth bombers, but if there's one thing he couldn't stand, it was nukes. He'd been set in a bad mood already, and it was only half nine.

Elena works in a shop in the town centre. On her way to work, she stops by the bakery near the causeway to Vyvland. A couple of protestors who'd sneaked into the town are being escorted away by black-clothed Luziycan officials. Elena pops in, but as usual, the shelves were a little empty; getting plentiful supplies form Vyvland for a small community was unfeasible. Owing to her husband's work, Elena gets a discount of 25d on her µ1.50 shop, but she pays in lira; the shop accepts both. Elena walks down the old street, with the golden-coloured buildings echoing the Namorese, Vyvlander and Luziycan history of Syfmion. Her shop, a grocery, stood on the corner of the main street and the dock: a prime location.

Map coming soonish.

[Luziyca]

(I'll introduce the three one step at a time, but I will RP NPCs).
Hammarskjöld Family

These were descendants of Swedish refugees, from Vyvland to Luziyca in 1945. In 1953, Dag Hammarskjöld (b. September 9, 1914) was assigned to Sudalto, and helped plan the 1954 coup d'etat against Admiral Jeuves, who murdered his kin and kicked other members of kin out. His wife, Elin (b. October 1, 1931) also came, and their children, Harold (b. June 8, 1950) and Erman (b. May 1, 1952), as well as their daughter, Emma (b. June 11, 1946).

Today, they still live in their 1950s home in the city center, with a spacious yard and in walking distance of the Stanley Azubah School, with enough space to grow vegetables and still have space for the children to play.

Dag and Elin had retired, Dag from his position as General and Commander of LAFB Sudalto (serving in that role from 1975 to 1992), and Mayor of Sudalto (1992 to 1996), and Elin from her position as mechanic, Harold marrying Maria Ardova (b. June 11, 1959) on May 22, 1979, and had two children (Sandy on Oct. 19, 1981, and Hans on June 11, 1987). Hans still lives with Dag, Maria and Harold, and he married Diana Anderson on Sept. 19, 2007, and had Ingrid (b. Sept. 30, 2008), a special needs child, and Katja (b. Sept. 16, 2011), a non-disabled child. Ingrid attends the Nencia School, since her parents feel it is right for her to get the best education there, while Katja is starting pre-K at the Stanley Azubah Primary School. Sandy has moved out to an apartment in The Crescents, at Syfsdop Point at the 21st floor (the highest floor of any building), and married William Louis (b. May 2, 1975) in 2004, having Samara Louis (b. April 7, 2006), Janina Louis (b. Sept. 28, 2009), and Troy Louis (b. May 9, 2011). Samara is now in Grade 2, at the Stanley Azubah school.

Erman has moved to another suburban home in the city center, marrying Elisabet Helgeseen (b. September 11, 1964) in 1985, and had Lucy (b. Oct. 9, 1987), Troy (b. Mar. 9, 1990), and Lila (b. Oct. 11, 1993). Lucy Hammerskjold graduated from Erman Sanker Secondary School in 2004, before heading to the mainland to get her education in Vlud, before she graduated in 2012 and returned home. Her intent is start a business at a cheap place in The Crescent: Syfsdop Point, and she got a home. Troy graduated from the Necina School in 2008, after passing the Abeyjr and moved to Vyvland. Lila graduated from the Erman Sanker School in 2010, and found a job at the Naturel des Nantes.

As the sun rose over Sudalto, Harold headed to the Base Office by foot. He was a city councilor, representing Ward One (there were eight wards, of which The Crescents had three, New Lorence had three, and the City Center had two), with Ward One comprising the southern part of the City Center. He got there and saw a young man in line. With a nod, he told the clerk to get to him. The clerk, an old lady then said to Gerard, "Sir, what is your military ID card?" Her voice was raspy and old, and a bit firm, like a schoolteacher's from auld lang syne.

His wife, Maria owned the shopping center, the Sudalto Mall. After she walked to the base office, she headed to the Blahbuss stop. Well, the terminal. (five routes exist, 1: The Crescents-New Lorence, 2: Base-City Center, 3: Erman Sanker (to Erman Sanker school), 4: Nencia (to Nencia school) and 5: Stanley Azubah (to Stanley Azubah school). Routes 3, 4, and 5 were like school buses, with each bus on those routes needed to transport children to and from school. There was also Route 6, the charter bus. Thus, with 18 buses on the fleet, Maria headed onto Route 1, and after depositing 10 senti (the buses only accept lira, and so do the taxis), she made her way to the mall, where Routes 1 and 2 stop. She gets off there, and walks past the Karshev's anchor to the administrative office where she sees on the desks to increase parking fees. Parking had been free here for a long time, but in recent years, many have to park as far as three blocks away because of its overcrowding. And she thus began proposing a trial for fees...

[Geadland]

Gerhard Rosenfeldt travelled to Syfmion with his daughter Katarin. Gerhard was a native to West Geadland but had lived for much of his life in Geadland, travelling much as a result of his work as a deacon in the Lutheran Catholic church. His favourite church was in suburban Da Hegner, near to where his family lived. He had travelled widely to other places too, often to assist churches in poor countries. Here in Syfmion, he would be temporarily filling in the role of a military chaplain at the army base, who was taking a break to do mission work in Kofeiya. Gerhard had other ideas too. He was hoping to start a food bank, to help feed the poor population in the Crescents. The place they were staying in within the Crescents was relatively expensive for the area, but far less comfortable than the home they were used to.

Katarin, or Kitty as she was usually known, had been brought up in Da Hegner. She had sometimes travelled to Luziyca to visit her relatives but never associated much with her father's home country. She was on a gap year after finishing High School and wanted to travel and gain work experience before starting university next year. Gerhard had then arranged for her to do voluntary work for a few weeks at Nicena School. This wasn't quite what she had in mind; she wanted to get away from her parents for a bit and enjoy herself. From here at least, she could find work in a big city (Vlud or Lorence?) before her father returned home.

[Divitaen]

The Villeneuve family

As Gérard Villeneuve heard the firm, uncompromising tone of the female administrator, he instinctively, without thinking, reacted, moving his hands towards the pockets of his bag. He produced a military ID card, with a picture of his face behind a white background, taken only last year, his name, printed in bold: Gérard Nicolas Villeneuve, and details regarding his age, date of birth, citizenship and residency. He had already been approved for enlistment, but in case it was necessary, he had a file with his essential medical records in case the administrator wished to see them. For the moment, he handed the military ID over to the lady, said, bowing, "Here it is, Mdm." and could merely await her response.

Meanwhile, Marie-Christine enjoyed her time at the Naturel des Nantes beauty shop. She had a strange fancy for sporting out the women who essentially suffered from the same insecurities as her. She saw the women with tight-fitting clothing, some of them had excessively-expensive evening gowns on. For some of the women, she could smell the fragrant scent of Moroccan Rose or Cherry Blossom flavours that Marie-Christine had herself recommended to her boss, and was proud to say so herself. She knew the women with an incessant desire to look young, beautiful and rich, and those were the ones she 'accosted', with new perfume lines, anti-ageing cream and other such products that the company churned out. She would punctuate her sentences with "latest Luziycan medical study shows dead sea salts decreases the rate of ageing in skin by 40-55%" or "the trend nowadays is to find the right tone for your lips, and Mdm, it really depends on your skin, although for you I would recommend a blend of Sasson-red and Waldorf-red, just for you, of course", and it would go on and on, but she loved it.

Her husband, Stéphane Alexandre Villeneuve, was busy at the office, typing out a more detailed report on his proposal for the institution of parking fees for Sudalto Mall's carparks. As Maria Ardova entered the room, he bowed to her, out of respect, but also because she was his boss and the owner of the mall. After that, he went back to his Excel sheet, were he began estimating the resultant demand on weekends and weekdays if the parking fees were

1) First 30 minutes: 0.50 NSD; Next 15 minutes or part thereof: 0.20 NSD
2) First 30 minutes: 0.60 NSD; Next 15 minutes or part thereof: 0.30 NSD

With that, he continued to pour over his calculations. It was all a numbers game, really. He only had exact figures on the current demand in Sudalto Mall, and could only guess, or estimate, the demand with increased prices, although looking at how crowded the parking lots currently were, it is likely that decreased demand would actually be more profitable for the mall. He continued to occupy himself with the numbers.

[Luziyca]

Gerhard Rosenfeldt travelled to Syfmion with his daughter Katarin. Gerhard was a native to West Geadland but had lived for much of his life in Geadland, travelling much as a result of his work as a deacon in the Lutheran Catholic church. His favourite church was in suburban Da Hegner, near to where his family lived. He had travelled widely to other places too, often to assist churches in poor countries. Here in Syfmion, he would be temporarily filling in the role of a military chaplain at the army base, who was taking a break to do mission work in Kofeiya. Gerhard had other ideas too. He was hoping to start a food bank, to help feed the poor population in the Crescents. The place they were staying in within the Crescents was relatively expensive for the area, but far less comfortable than the home they were used to.

Katarin, or Kitty as she was usually known, had been brought up in Da Hegner. She had sometimes travelled to Luziyca to visit her relatives but never associated much with her father's home country. She was on a gap year after finishing High School and wanted to travel and gain work experience before starting university next year. Gerhard had then arranged for her to do voluntary work for a few weeks at Nencia School. This wasn't quite what she had in mind; she wanted to get away from her parents for a bit and enjoy herself. From here at least, she could find work in a big city (Vlud or Lorence?) before her father returned home.

The Crescents shared a food bank with Syfmion prior to 2009: the Christian Food League, comprised of independent grocery stores that voluntarily agreed to give 1/10th of their food to the league, and was founded in 1993. After it declared bankruptcy in 2009 due to lack of donations, the island has gone without a food bank. While the Sudalto School Board (Nencia School is not part of the board) has a food bank of sorts, it is not as effective as the Christian Food League.

As for Gerhart, he is working at the St. Roger's Chapel, subordinate to St. Fabian's Church in the heart of Sudalto. Since it was Lutheran Catholic (there was a small synagogue and mosque, and St. Fabian's Church also does other denominations of Christinaity), it was the perfect place for the chaplain to work. Since many have high respect of chaplains, when he entered the base, the soldiers saluted him.

Meanwhile, at Dag's home, Ingrid woke up and the family (except Katja for obvious reasons) helped get Ingrid ready to get to school. At 8:00 am, the SAB cab (Nencia pays for the cabs to transport disabled students to Nencia) arrived, and once she got on, the cab headed west to The Crescents to pick up some children before heading to Nencia School. Katja also was ready, and they headed to the nearest Blahbus stop to get Katja to the Stanley Azubah School.

At Stanley Azubah School, Samara (in Grade 2) and Janina (in Pre-K) were waiting with their mother for Route 5: to Stanley Azubah Primary School. Their lunch was packed, and they lived next to some Geadish neighbors, that just moved in (and will likely stay for a few months or so). Thus, in the cool temperature of 8 degrees (all degrees except stated are in Celsius), the bus soon came and Stanley and Janina went on the bus with Sandy. At 8:45 am, the buses arrived, and the children disembarked, some with their parents. After Sandy hugged their children, she then walked the rest of her way to work at a gas station.

---

The Villeneuve family

As Gérard Villeneuve heard the firm, uncompromising tone of the female administrator, he instinctively, without thinking, reacted, moving his hands towards the pockets of his bag. He produced a military ID card, with a picture of his face behind a white background, taken only last year, his name, printed in bold: Gérard Nicolas Villeneuve, and details regarding his age, date of birth, citizenship and residency. He had already been approved for enlistment, but in case it was necessary, he had a file with his essential medical records in case the administrator wished to see them. For the moment, he handed the military ID over to the lady, said, bowing, "Here it is, Mdm." and could merely await her response.

Meanwhile, Marie-Christine enjoyed her time at the Naturel des Nantes beauty shop. She had a strange fancy for sporting out the women who essentially suffered from the same insecurities as her. She saw the women with tight-fitting clothing, some of them had excessively-expensive evening gowns on. For some of the women, she could smell the fragrant scent of Moroccan Rose or Cherry Blossom flavours that Marie-Christine had herself recommended to her boss, and was proud to say so herself. She knew the women with an incessant desire to look young, beautiful and rich, and those were the ones she 'accosted', with new perfume lines, anti-ageing cream and other such products that the company churned out. She would punctuate her sentences with "latest Luziycan medical study shows dead sea salts decreases the rate of ageing in skin by 40-55%" or "the trend nowadays is to find the right tone for your lips, and Mdm, it really depends on your skin, although for you I would recommend a blend of Sasson-red and Waldorf-red, just for you, of course", and it would go on and on, but she loved it.

Her husband, Stéphane Alexandre Villeneuve, was busy at the office, typing out a more detailed report on his proposal for the institution of parking fees for Sudalto Mall's carparks. As Maria Ardova entered the room, he bowed to her, out of respect, but also because she was his boss and the owner of the mall. After that, he went back to his Excel sheet, were he began estimating the resultant demand on weekends and weekdays if the parking fees were

1) First 30 minutes: 0.50 NSD; Next 15 minutes or part thereof: 0.20 NSD
2) First 30 minutes: 0.60 NSD; Next 15 minutes or part thereof: 0.30 NSD

With that, he continued to pour over his calculations. It was all a numbers game, really. He only had exact figures on the current demand in Sudalto Mall, and could only guess, or estimate, the demand with increased prices, although looking at how crowded the parking lots currently were, it is likely that decreased demand would actually be more profitable for the mall. He continued to occupy himself with the numbers.

After she examined the card, she scanned it and the records appeared. "Excellent, sir," she said. "You are going to report to duty on Monday (today is Oct. 25). Enjoy your last few days of civilian freedom for once you wake up Monday morning, you shall be subject to military regulations. Come to the Base Office at nine o' clock, alright, sir?"

Meanwhile, after a few hours, Maria Hammerskjold examined the rates... She muttered it as he wrote them in lira, and once she understood, she suggested, "May I suggest raising the first 30 minutes to say, 1 lira ($2), 1 hour to cost 2 lira ($4), 2 hours for 4 lira ($8), and a day pass for 24 lira ($48)? Just an idea, but a quarter (25E) is a bit too cheap, don't ya think?"

[Divitaen]

After she examined the card, she scanned it and the records appeared. "Excellent, sir," she said. "You are going to report to duty on Monday (today is Oct. 25). Enjoy your last few days of civilian freedom for once you wake up Monday morning, you shall be subject to military regulations. Come to the Base Office at nine o' clock, alright, sir?"

Meanwhile, after a few hours, Maria Hammerskjold examined the rates... She muttered it as he wrote them in lira, and once she understood, she suggested, "May I suggest raising the first 30 minutes to say, 1 lira ($2), 1 hour to cost 2 lira ($4), 2 hours for 4 lira ($8), and a day pass for 24 lira ($48)? Just an idea, but a quarter (25E) is a bit too cheap, don't ya think?"

Gérard bowed again and thanked the woman, acknowledged her order, before taking his bag and exiting the military base. He was a bit shocked, and rather confused, by the woman's strange and morbid tone, although he expected strict military regimentation, of course, but still, he found that a bit over-the-top. Oh well, maybe he should enjoy his "few days of civilian freedom". It was Friday already, so that meant only two more days, not counting today. He hailed a taxi and decided to return to the Sudalto Mall, maybe catch a nice movie to enjoy himself. As the cab, bumping along the road, reached the Sudalto Mall, he was glad that he wasn't driving a car, with the surrounding carparks completely full. As he got off and paid the driver, he entered the mall and immediately began looking around for a nice cinema. As he poured over the Directory and made his way over to the theatre, he searched around, settled down for a rom-com that would be beginning in a few hours and began to queue for the tickets.

Stéphane felt like slapping himself for forgetting that his boss always worked in lira rather than NSD, and decided to begin working his calculations in lira. "Hmm...it is rather cheap, but what I was afraid of was a market shock, because right now parking is free. If we immediately raise the prices to those you suggested, I was afraid that the shops currently paying us rental would suffer from excessively-reduced demand. I think the prices you recommended should be halved first, and then we make a gradual transition to those you just recommended."

[Luziyca]

After she examined the card, she scanned it and the records appeared. "Excellent, sir," she said. "You are going to report to duty on Monday (today is Oct. 25). Enjoy your last few days of civilian freedom for once you wake up Monday morning, you shall be subject to military regulations. Come to the Base Office at nine o' clock, alright, sir?"

Meanwhile, after a few hours, Maria Hammerskjold examined the rates... She muttered it as he wrote them in lira, and once she understood, she suggested, "May I suggest raising the first 30 minutes to say, 1 lira ($2), 1 hour to cost 2 lira ($4), 2 hours for 4 lira ($8), and a day pass for 24 lira ($48)? Just an idea, but a quarter (25E) is a bit too cheap, don't ya think?"

Gérard bowed again and thanked the woman, acknowledged her order, before taking his bag and exiting the military base. He was a bit shocked, and rather confused, by the woman's strange and morbid tone, although he expected strict military regimentation, of course, but still, he found that a bit over-the-top. Oh well, maybe he should enjoy his "few days of civilian freedom". It was Friday already, so that meant only two more days, not counting today. He hailed a taxi and decided to return to the Sudalto Mall, maybe catch a nice movie to enjoy himself. As the cab, bumping along the road, reached the Sudalto Mall, he was glad that he wasn't driving a car, with the surrounding carparks completely full. As he got off and paid the driver, he entered the mall and immediately began looking around for a nice cinema. As he poured over the Directory and made his way over to the theatre, he searched around, settled down for a rom-com that would be beginning in a few hours and began to queue for the tickets.

Stéphane felt like slapping himself for forgetting that his boss always worked in lira rather than NSD, and decided to begin working his calculations in lira. "Hmm...it is rather cheap, but what I was afraid of was a market shock, because right now parking is free. If we immediately raise the prices to those you suggested, I was afraid that the shops currently paying us rental would suffer from excessively-reduced demand. I think the prices you recommended should be halved first, and then we make a gradual transition to those you just recommended."

The theater Gerard was at was one of the two cinemas, the "Rainbow Cinemas," the only multiplex theater on the islands. The other, the "Sudalto Theater" is an arthouse theater since the mid-1990s when many switched to the Rainbow. After a while he got to the ticket office. The options were... on the wall.

The clerk said in a polite tone, "Which film would you like to see today?"

The boss replied to Stephane, "This is the only shopping center on the islands. We got no competition here, besides independent stores, but really, I believe that we could do it gradually like you asked, perhaps for a two month trial period and see the results. If it works, we move to the permanent rate, if not, we abolish those fees."

[Vyvland]

Nencia School, Syfmion

---

Aneka had arrived for her morning lessons by 8:45. As a nine-year-old, she was still in the Ynfsgol stage, but she was going to stay on here until her seventeenth year.

She went into her class of 20, and sat down in her normal place, between Tomas and Jeusev. Her teacher, Ms. Gundelsen, sat at her desk in the classroom as the sun shone through the upper windows. Marie called out the register; naturally, Aneka Abelig answered first, with a shy 'je'. On the island, discipline is stricter than on most of the mainland, and Marie made the children stand up after the register, reciting questions about what they'd learnt this week. Aneka fails to answer her multiplication question correctly; maths isn't her strongest subject. She had to stand outside the classroom for a while, before Ms. Gundelsen set the other children a piece of work and came out to test Aneka and her fellow students who had failed to answer their questions. The staunch, fifty-something-year-old woman stood above Aneka, asking her the word for 'river' in Luziycan.

"Rado!" shouts Aneka in an innocent, childlike way, her affected accent coming through. Ms. Gundelsen congratulates her, and she walks back in to what had become a History lesson. History was something Ms. Gundelsen always finds hard to teach on the island, because of the bitter tensions. She always tries to keep well away from the more controversial topics: South Vyvland, nationalism, Swedes, and sticks to ancient Vyvlander history; that of warring tribes and ancient cities. The class have a school trip to Pegerms organised for later in the year, to see the ancient lava-encased city. Unfortunately, a few of Aneka's best friends can't enter mainland Vyvland, so they'll have to stay here.

A couple more lessons passed, and then it was lunchtime. As quite a few lived near the school, a lot of people walked home during the ninety minutes, but Aneka didn't have this luxury; her parents were at work. Instead, like every day, it was the sloppy, salty food she was used to, day in, day out. She skipped outside into the playground, chatted to her friends, ran around. A game of tag was that lunchtime's entertainment, before she went inside for another bout of education. But, being a Friday, school ended early, after two hours of more relaxed lessons. A front was moving over the island, and it began to rain heavily just as Aneka walked out of the corridor; streams formed along the roads, and she jumped in puddles with her other Vyvlander friends. Past the Luziycan school she walked, but she didn't know anyone there; the two school and languages kept quite separate, unlike the adults.

[Luziyca]

Nencia School, Sudalto

Ingrid also had arrived, to her lessons. The Rossgol part of the school was one of the few maintaining the name, for while it uses the same curriculum as the rest of Vyvland, it still uses its Sankerist name, like some other regions. The Rossgol though uses both Vyvlander, English and Luziycan. It was that the teachers were Vyvlanders, however. The room itself was, while using modern technology, in the same configuration as a 1960s rossgol (with some modifications however). Children ages 2 to 21 are being taught here, since this Rossgol is the only special-education school in Sudalto. The official name of this Rossgol is unsurprisingly, the Ros Sanker Rossgol (Ross Sanker Special Education School), but it is functionally part of the Nencia School.

It was a busy day for Ingrid, as she went through what she had learned and more speech therapy and exercise for walk. At lunch, she had her usual lunch (the same salty and sloppy food, which she actually can eat, that everyone who cannot go home eats). After she ate, she went outside to play with her friends, when she played tag (despite taking a little while to reach another person when she got tagged). Once the bell went, she was taken inside to the rossgol to do more lessons before the bell rang. She got to go home and the cab arrived in front of Nencia to take her home. After she was dropped off at home, her grandfather, Harold asked how her day was and she replied, "Prah-vi." (Provi is the proper term for good). With a smile on his face, he said in Luziycan, "You may expect a friend over soon." That brightened Ingrid's day.

---

Stanley Azubah Primary School

At 9:00 am, classes began. Janina only needed to attend until 11:55 am (following the pre-K curriculum of Luziyca of which I am OoCly too lazy to explain), when lunch occurs, but Samara has to stay until 3:20 pm. Thus, when classes began for Samara, it was first Luziycan, from 9:00 am to 9:50 am, then Social Studies (History) from 9:50 am to 10:40 am. At 10:40 am, was recess, which lasted until 11:05 am, which was Science, before lunch, from 11:55 am to 12:50 pm. At 12:50 pm was Phys. Ed, before at 1:40 pm was Computer Science, before at 2:30 pm was Vyvlander. School ended early on Thursdays at 3:00 pm for staff meetings (at Erman Sanker Secondary School, they end at 1:20 pm). With the rain coming, she headed on the no. 5 back home (Janina was already at home), arriving at 4:00 pm.

[Vyvland]

Nencia School, Sudalto

Ingrid also had arrived, to her lessons. The Rossgol part of the school was one of the few maintaining the name, for while it uses the same curriculum as the rest of Vyvland, it still uses its Sankerist name, like some other regions. The Rossgol though uses both Vyvlander, English and Luziycan. It was that the teachers were Vyvlanders, however. The room itself was, while using modern technology, in the same configuration as a 1960s rossgol (with some modifications however). Children ages 2 to 21 are being taught here, since this Rossgol is the only special-education school in Sudalto. The official name of this Rossgol is unsurprisingly, the Ros Sanker Rossgol (Ross Sanker Special Education School), but it is functionally part of the Nencia School.

It was a busy day for Ingrid, as she went through what she had learned and more speech therapy and exercise for walk. At lunch, she had her usual lunch (the same salty and sloppy food, which she actually can eat, that everyone who cannot go home eats). After she ate, she went outside to play with her friends, when she played tag (despite taking a little while to reach another person when she got tagged). Once the bell went, she was taken inside to the rossgol to do more lessons before the bell rang. She got to go home and the cab arrived in front of Nencia to take her home. After she was dropped off at home, her grandfather, Harold asked how her day was and she replied, "Prah-vi." (Provi is the proper term for good). With a smile on his face, he said in Luziycan, "You may expect a friend over soon." That brightened Ingrid's day.

Ingrid heard a ringing on the doorbell, and Harold strode over to open it. It was her friend, Diane, and her mum. Diane was one of the few kids at the Nencia School who played with and showed sympathy to the dozen or so special needs children. Diane walked in, nervously; it was the first time she'd set foot in Ingrid's home. She walked past the coat racks and into the living room. Harold seemed nice enough. In the room, Ingrid had her toys out on the floor. Diane spoke her first words nervously in the house, and Harold offered her a drink.

But as with anything on Syfmion, politics was inescapable from daily life. Diane remarked about something her mum had said at the dinner table last night - something about her admiration of the old Southern government. It's obvious how the Hammarskjölds found this comment; awkward. As refugees from the government, their family had been driven to Luziycan territory to escape persecution in Vyvland. Diane knew something was wrong with what she'd just said, and regretted it.

[Luziyca]

Dag Hammerskojld, asked Diane in Luziycan, "Are you referring to Jeuves, or are you referring to Sanker? If it is the former," he switched to Swedish, "han skulle brinna i helvetet!" He then switched back to Luziycan, "If it is the latter, I admire Sanker as well."

Ingrid meanwhile said to Diane in an innocent tone of voice, "Hej De-ann!" She mispronounced her name, but it didn't really matter.

[Vyvland]

"You said it wrong! Everyone does that! The mainlanders always say it Dee-anna. Sillies!" Diane's last comment suggested that she was used to a bit of mispronunciation in the multicultural town. She then turned to look at Dag, and saw the look on his face. Despite her young age, she knew it'd be tough to answer his question; he had that sort of look on his face.

"What does 'admire' mean, Mister Hammerskjöld? Is it a bad word?" Diane was curious to know; she'd heard very little about Sanker and Jueves from those who weren't her parents. She knew their names, and she knew that her parents quite liked them, but beyond that she hadn't a clue about how they were viewed.

Also, sorry about the IRC comments on the RMB; you'd sorted it out immediately after I posted.

[Luziyca]

"You said it wrong! Everyone does that! The mainlanders always say it Dee-anna. Sillies!" Diane's last comment suggested that she was used to a bit of mispronunciation in the multicultural town. She then turned to look at Dag, and saw the look on his face. Despite her young age, she knew it'd be tough to answer his question; he had that sort of look on his face.

"What does 'admire' mean, Mister Hammerskjöld? Is it a bad word?" Diane was curious to know; she'd heard very little about Sanker and Jueves from those who weren't her parents. She knew their names, and she knew that her parents quite liked them, but beyond that she hadn't a clue about how they were viewed.

Ingrid laughed as well. At least the Luziycans say "Diana," and smiled as well.

Dag then replied in Luziycan, "Well, mademoiselle, admire means regarding with respect. And I regard President Sanker with such respect. Jeuves, on the other hand..." He sighed, and Dag said, "If you have to pardon my Dutch, he is worse, worse than Sata..." That was when Maria came with a cup of coffee.

Maria then asked Diane's mother and Dag, "Would you like to watch a documentary with me about Syfmion from 1975?" That documentary was on DVD, of a series airing in the 1970s, "Travels," or in Luziycan, "Resa" (and in Swedish as well). Dag replied, "Ja, madam." Ingrid also got onto the couch besides Dag and Maria.

[Vyvland]

The documentary showed little glimpses of Syfmion; streets she knew and houses she'd been in. The Luziycan langauge being spoken on the screen meant she could just about understand it, but the Swedish captions below confused her. A pround-looking man shot up on the screen, which glasses and grey hair. He was standing in Syfmion's town centre.

Dag pointed that out as Erman Sanker, and Diane thought she recognised the name.
"I think mummy likes him"
"Well, good. He was a great man, you know." Dag rummaged around on the desk in the living room and found a picture of Jueves. "This is Jueves. He was..."

Dag muffled something which Diane couldn't understand.

"He looks like a bad man. But I think mummy might like him too."

[Luziyca]

Dag sighed, and said, "Jeuves is a bad man, Diane. He killed Swedes left and right, then once he kicked some out and killed the rest, he did the same to other minorities." Meanwhile, Ingrid moved so to sit besides Diana (more though like dragging herself from her previous spot to the spot next to Diana).

The documentary not only showed that, it also showed the daily life of the island, how they survive without a mall, with independent stores, a single TV and radio station (LRT), and their culture and history. What made Sudalto different at the time was that there was no skyscrapers, the producer, Noah Trondseen (appearing with black hair and a khaki suit) admiring the island but the constant wind, he felt was "symbolic of its isolation from both Vyvland and Luziyca." When Erman Sanker appeared on the screen, Noah said, "President Erman Sanker of Vyvland is one of the main visitors to Sudalto, committing to make sure that the inhabitants are maintaining the community and to encourage patriotism, and Sanker brought Ros Sanker to the island so both can open the Ros Sanker Rossgol. After a ceremony (including the anthem of South Vyvland and Luziyca), Noah got to seen the inside of the school, and then took a tour of its K-12 school, Stanley Azubah School, a Luziycan-style school.

As well, the family got to see Noah tour the base with permission from the commander of the base, none other than Dag Hammarskjold, of which they have an interview. Dag looked so young then, in a Luziycan-style military uniform, and the interview was of how the base works, their lives, et cetera. Finally, it has him remark of life on the island, comparing their culture with both Vyvland's and Luziyca's, and then the episode ends.

[Vyvland]

The documentary was paused on its final shot, a pan around Syfmion's harbour with Trondseen standing in the foreground. Another ring could be heard at the doorbell, as the sun was entering its pinky-orange stage outside. Harold again got up to answer it. It was Diane's mother.

"Hello!" The two exchanged uneasy greetings, as Diane moved towards her mother.
"Did you have fun, Diane?"

Diane seemed wary of her mother, and she just nodded.

"Is everything OK there?"

Another nod. Then Diane lifted her head up.

"Mister Hammarskjöld said Jueves was a bad man."

Dag and Harold blushed, and rage built up on Diane's mother's face.

"I don't think you should be saying these sort of things to my daughter!"

[Luziyca]

The documentary was paused on its final shot, a pan around Syfmion's harbour with Trondseen standing in the foreground. Another ring could be heard at the doorbell, as the sun was entering its pinky-orange stage outside. Harold again got up to answer it. It was Diane's mother.

"Hello!" The two exchanged uneasy greetings, as Diane moved towards her mother.
"Did you have fun, Diane?"

Diane seemed wary of her mother, and she just nodded.

"Is everything OK there?"

Another nod. Then Diane lifted her head up.

"Mister Hammarskjöld said Jueves was a bad man."

Dag and Harold blushed, and rage built up on Diane's mother's face.

"I don't think you should be saying these sort of things to my daughter!"

Dag asked, "Then justify Jeuve's policies which started with the Swedish laws and peaked with the threat to expel us Swedes or have us killed?" He sighed. He thought, "It'd be better if Diane kept her mouth shut," but didn't want to say it.

[Vyvland]

Diane's mother stode over the doormat.

"I can justify it. I can justify this man who brought Vyvland from the brink of monarchial tyranny, instilled in us a glorious revolution and patriotic war. And you know, Sanker was a collaborator and friend of Jueves. You would have to be crazy to suggest they were different. The two men are inseparable! Inseparable and great!"

Diane's mother sensed she had gone too far, yet continued with her angered looks and stance.

[Luziyca]

Diane's mother stode over the doormat.

"I can justify it. I can justify this man who brought Vyvland from the brink of monarchial tyranny, instilled in us a glorious revolution and patriotic war. And you know, Sanker was a collaborator and friend of Jueves. You would have to be crazy to suggest they were different. The two men are inseparable! Inseparable and great!"

Diane's mother sensed she had gone too far, yet continued with her angered looks and stance.

Dag nodded, but he said calmly, "So you believe that the Swedes supported the monarchy? Funny, because I may be a Swede, but I support Sanker because of his lelsdadnes policy; how he restored Swedish citizenship to the Swedes, and I had been a patriotic supporter of the Admiral before 1942. But when the Admiral began to discriminate against us Swedes, I knew that my faith in him was eroded. But with Sanker, he brought back my support for the South." He sighed and began thinking of what is next.

Occasionally, he had to deal with ignorant people who tried to claim Jeuves was better (he only did what he did once to a non-Jeuves supporter when a kidnapper tried to kidnap Hans in 1990), and when his patience ran out, he'd give them a "Swedish punch," which involved a punch to a side of the face. However, so far, he was not at that state. But if she started attacking, that's when he will do that.

He then looked at Diana, giving her a look that seemed to say, "You'd be better off by going away from the argument."

[Vyvland]

Dag nodded, but he said calmly, "So you believe that the Swedes supported the monarchy? Funny, because I may be a Swede, but I support Sanker because of his lelsdadnes policy; how he restored Swedish citizenship to the Swedes, and I had been a patriotic supporter of the Admiral before 1942. But when the Admiral began to discriminate against us Swedes, I knew that my faith in him was eroded. But with Sanker, he brought back my support for the South." He sighed and began thinking of what is next.

Occasionally, he had to deal with ignorant people who tried to claim Jeuves was better (he only did what he did once to a non-Jeuves supporter when a kidnapper tried to kidnap Hans in 1990), and when his patience ran out, he'd give them a "Swedish punch," which involved a punch to a side of the face. However, so far, he was not at that state. But if she started attacking, that's when he will do that.

He then looked at Diana, giving her a look that seemed to say, "You'd be better off by going away from the argument."

"Used to be a patriotic supporter. Utter tosh, I say. Jueves was working for the motherland, and while this may have had unforseen consequences, they were only blips on his march to the greater good. I'm almost inclined to withdraw my support for Sanker to avoid sharing an opinion with a heretic like you!"

Diane's mother had gone into fully-fledged argument. She didn't like talking about this, but she had such strong feelings that she felt she had to. She didn't like the look on Dag's face, but was prepared. Diane ran away from her mother, over to Ingrid, who was standing by the stairs. The two friends clutched each other, a look of terror went through their eyes.

[Luziyca]

Dag nodded, but he said calmly, "So you believe that the Swedes supported the monarchy? Funny, because I may be a Swede, but I support Sanker because of his lelsdadnes policy; how he restored Swedish citizenship to the Swedes, and I had been a patriotic supporter of the Admiral before 1942. But when the Admiral began to discriminate against us Swedes, I knew that my faith in him was eroded. But with Sanker, he brought back my support for the South." He sighed and began thinking of what is next.

Occasionally, he had to deal with ignorant people who tried to claim Jeuves was better (he only did what he did once to a non-Jeuves supporter when a kidnapper tried to kidnap Hans in 1990), and when his patience ran out, he'd give them a "Swedish punch," which involved a punch to a side of the face. However, so far, he was not at that state. But if she started attacking, that's when he will do that.

He then looked at Diana, giving her a look that seemed to say, "You'd be better off by going away from the argument."

"Used to be a patriotic supporter. Utter tosh, I say. Jueves was working for the motherland, and while this may have had unforseen consequences, they were only blips on his march to the greater good. I'm almost inclined to withdraw my support for Sanker to avoid sharing an opinion with a heretic like you!"

Diane's mother had gone into fully-fledged argument. She didn't like talking about this, but she had such strong feelings that she felt she had to. She didn't like the look on Dag's face, but was prepared. Diane ran away from her mother, over to Ingrid, who was standing by the stairs. The two friends clutched each other, a look of terror went through their eyes.

"Well, what you may not know was that I helped plan the coup d'etat that brought down Jeuves and installed Sanker. If you need proof," he said as he dug through the pocket to get his wallet and showed her a picture of him receiving an honor from the government for overthrowing Jueves, "here it is!"

Katja also did the same with Ingrid, before Ingrid led them up the stairs towards her room (she walked with support of the railing), in fear that it would get violent. Once they arrived, Ingrid "crawled" (more like dragging herself on the carpet) to her room, but it was easy to tell she was more scared than even Diane.

[Vyvland]

"Well, what you may not know was that I helped plan the coup d'etat that brought down Jeuves and installed Sanker. If you need proof," he said as he dug through the pocket to get his wallet and showed her a picture of him receiving an honor from the government for overthrowing Jueves, "here it is!"

Katja also did the same with Ingrid, before Ingrid led them up the stairs towards her room (she walked with support of the railing), in fear that it would get violent. Once they arrived, Ingrid "crawled" (more like dragging herself on the carpet) to her room, but it was easy to tell she was more scared than even Diane.

"You're a monster! Without Jueves, there would've been no Sanker! How dare you collaborate in his overthrowing!" Diane's mother knew what she was getting into. She sensed a heightened sense of anger eminating from Dag, as the family turned to oppose her. She hoped this wouldn't hurt her daughter's relationship with Ingrid, but was too consumed in the argument to realise that continuing her rage could only make the two chidren's friendship worse. She started to clench her hands into fists, ready for anything.

Upstairs, the children listened as the argument descended into personal insults. They feared something worse was about to come from this squabble, and climbed into Ingrid's bed, looking out on the sunset. It was funny how the calmness outside contrasted with what was going on inside.

[Luziyca]

Finally, Dag knew what will happen next, and promptly switched to Swedish, "Det är allt! Innan det blir värre, kommer jag låta dig omvärdera dina synpunkter när du har ont!" (That's it! Before it gets any worse, I will let you re-evaluate your views while you are in pain!) With that, he gave her the Swedish punch, through the left side.

Once he did it, he walked calmly to his desk and took out a sheet of paper and a red pen. One more tick, that was the 500th total Swedish punch. 499 red ticks, and one blue tick. He sighed and muttered, "Dumheten hos vissa människor..." He headed to the kitchen and took out a can of Pepsi before drinking it.

Meanwhile Ingrid hid underneath the covers, only taking a peek to look at the sunset, although it was slightly obscured by the buildings.